By Roz Weis,
Child Identification Kits have been distributed to kindergarten through 12th grade students throughout the state.
Decorah Community School District (DCSD) Superintendent Tim Cronin told Driftless Multimedia that the school received boxes of the inkless, at-home child ID kids recently.
The kits are being distributed through the Iowa Attorney General Office in partnership with Alliant Energy and MidAmerican Energy.
The information released in Supt. Cronin’s report to the Decorah School Board Monday night suggests the kit takes less than two minutes to complete, and the information is never entered in a database. According to a statement accompanying the kits, the individual data should be kept solely by the parent/guardian and should be stored in a cool, dry, safe place at home.
According to the Office of the Iowa Attorney General, “The kits are intended to ensure information is collected for authorities if they need should your child ever go missing.”
Some 1,000 children go missing on an average day across America. According to the Iowa Department of Public Safety, there are currently 175 children (ages 18 and younger) missing.
Parents or guardians have no obligation to fill out the kit, however, according to the information included with the kit “it allows parents or guardians to have their child’s vital information, DNA and fingerprints in a safe place in their home should the unthinkable happen.”
Cronin stressed that the information is not to be returned to the school and should only be given to law enforcement in case of an emergency.
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